Method of and apparatus for producing steel wool or the like



Oct. 21, 1930. F" JEANNIN 1,779,318

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING STEEL WOOL OR THE LIKE Filed Feb.12, 1927 3 SheetsSheet 1 P (r INVENTOR fiTNtSQ-QS J1. kfaizru'm.

- I BY 9% br v; 7 E W ATTORNEY Oct. 21, 1930' J. F. JEANNIN METHOD OFAND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING STEEL WOOL OR THE LIKE Filed Feb. 12 1927 3Sheets-Sheet 2 WH'NESSES INVENTOR ATTORNEY Oct. 21, 1930. 'J. F.JEANNINV 1,779,318

- METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING STEEL WOOL OR THE LIKE FiledFeb/12, 1927 s Sheets-Sheet a Ill/[17A FIC1.S.

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ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 21, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN F.JEANNIN, F TOLEDO, OHIO METHOD OF AND APPARATUS IFOIlEtv PRODUCING STEELWOOL OR THE LIKE Application filed February 12, 1927. Serial. No.167,746.

The present invention is concerned with a. novel-method of, andapparatus for effecting the production ofinetallic shavings, such as arecommonly known in the art as steel wool.

Present methods of steel wool production, and the machines which are nowused, require the attendance of skilled workmen inasmuch as the matterof gauging the knives to assure a proper cut is now left largely to thejudgment of the operator.

In accordance with the present invention, I have devised a machine whichwill be substantially automatic in operation and fully automatic in sofar as the adjustment or feed of the knives is concerned. Preferably thework, usually in the nature of a, wire, 1s not drawn over the knives,but is wound on a rotating work carrier and the feed of the knives isautomatically synchronized with the movement of the work carrier to movethem closer to the hub of the carrier at each revolution of the latter,so thatsubstantially umform thicknesses of wool will be shaved from thework at each revolution, and the machine will act automatically toproduce continuous steel wool shavings of a thickness predetermined bythe setting of the machine.

In so far as the method is concerned I have made a radical departurefrom all previous 0 methods; in the first place by using wire ofnon-circular cross section, preferably square wire from which to cut thewool, thereby eliminating a tremendous amount of waste in the stockwhich is operated on by the knives. In

the second place as suggested above, I adjustably mount a battery ofknives adjacent a rotating work carrier and feed them toward the centerof the carrier as the latter revolves,

1 and successive layers of shavings are stripped from the cylindricalsurface of the stock.

I More general objects of the invention are to provide a machine ofsimple practical construction, which will be rugged, durable andefficient in use,-and well suited to the require- 4 ments of economicalmanufacture.

More specific objects are toprovide a work carrier upon which a coil. ofwire may be readily wound and which is so constructed that no slack canoccur in the coil. To provide a battery of knives capable of convenientsimultaneous automatic adjustment and inde pendent manual adjustment,and so mounted that they may be readily removed, sharpened, andreplaced; and to provide knife feeding mechanism of extremely simpleconstruction well suited for accurately gauging the thickness of themetal shavings, which are pr0- duced.

With the above noted and other objects in View, the invention consistsin certain novel features of construction and combinations andarrangements of arts, as will be more fully hereinafter set orth andpointed out in the claims. The invention may be more fully understoodfrom the following description in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein- Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a machine embodying thepresent invention.

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a view in end elevation thereof.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken approximately onthe line 44 .of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary trans" verse sectional View throughthe feed nut and associated mechanism which controls the knife feed,this view being taken approximately on the line 55 of Fig. 6.

Figs. 6 and? are transverse sectional views on the lines 6,6"and 77 ofFig. 5 respectively. n

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one of the knives.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary front elevational v detail of the knife holder,showing the means for clamping the knives in place and for manuallyindependently adjusting them.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view on the line 1010 ofFig. 9.

I have shown the machine as including a bed 10 from which rise a pair ofstandards 11 providing bearings 12 at their upper ends for ahorizontally disposed shaft 13, one end of which projects beyond thebearin s and is screw-threaded as at 14 to control t e knife feedingmechanism in a manner which will be later described. A substantiallyU-shaped yoke disposed in approximately horizontal osition is int g atits nds with the stand.-

ard 12 and has its arms 15 integrally connected to the standard bystrengthening Webs 16. Mounted upon or integral with the spaced arms 15of the yoke are a pair of parallel tracks 17 serving to guide themovement of the knife carriage 18. The intermediate portion 19 of theyoke mounts a track 20 in which a cam 21 is dovetailed for sliding Thework holder The work as suggested above, is preferably in the nature ofa wire 24 of square cross section. For the sake of clarity ofillustration, the size of the wire has been somewhat exaggerated. Thiswire is spirally wound in a series of contiguous convolutions over theouter surface'of a revolving drum mounted on the shaft 13 between thestandards 11. The drum or work carrier is formed of a series ofsections, one end section 25 having its hub 26 keyed to the shaft 13 asat27. Two generally similar drum sections 28 have their hubs 29 rotatingfreely on the shaft 13, these hubs being lined with suitable bearingmaterial 30. A fourth drum section 31 also turning freely on the shaft13 is provided with a laterally enlarged hub portion 32 and the outersurfaces of all of the drums being arranged in lateral juxtapositionprovide a cylindrical surface upon which the wire 24 may be wound.Obviously, more'or less sections might be used in the formation of thework carrying drum.

One end of the wire 24 is passed through a notch 23 in the periphery ofthe outer drum 25 entered into a slot 34 in a flange 35 on the drum andanchored by a set screw 36 mounted in the flange. The drum is thenrotated to wrap the wire thereabout, the wire lying in a series ofcontiguous convolutions and 001m pletely covering the periphery of thedrum. When the surface of the drum has been covered with wire, the otherend of the wire is inserted through a notch 37 in the drum section 31and anchored to a disc 38 by a set screw 39. The disc 38 is mounted forfree turning movement on the enlarged hub 32 of the drum section 31, andis retained against axial movement by a retaining ring 40 screwed on tothe hub.

Brake bands 41 and 42 are associated with the disc 38 and the hub 32respectively, these brake bands being operated by levers 43 and 44pivotally connected as at 45 and 46 to an arm 47 which constitutes anextension of one of the bearings 12.

The purpose of the two brakes 41 and 42 is to insure the original tightwrapping of the wire stock about the drum, and to prevent any slackoccurring either at this time or during the subsequent rotation of thedrum while the steel Wool is being shaved.

Having anchored the tWo ends of the wire, and while the drum is inmotion, I apply first the brake band 41 and then the brake band 40,retarding first the disc 38 and then the drum section 31 to drag on thewire and take up any slack which may have occurred while winding thesame.

It will be understood that the tension of the brake bands exerts onlyenough drag to I revent the formation of slack, and that the rake bandsdo not interfere with the proper rotation of the drum sections as a unitafter the wire hasbeen tightly wound about them. Knife carriage Assuggested above the knife carriage 18 bridges the space between the twoarms 15 of the yoke, and at its opposite ends is formed with extensions50 keyed to slide in the tracks 17. The carriage 18 has removablymounted thereon a holder block 51 for a battery of knives 52. As bestseen in Fig. 10, this block 51 is grooved at 51 to seat on a rail 53 ofthe carriage 18, and may be removably secured to the carriage as bybolts 54. The inclined face of the block 51 affords a substantialbacking for the knives 52, one of which is shown in perspective in Fig.9. The shanks 52 of these knives are retained beneath the edges of claming plates 55 adjustable toward or away rom the face of the block 51 byscrews 56. The clamping plates 5'5exert the necessary pressure on theshanks of the knives to hold the latter against axial movement. Suchaxial adjustment of the knives as may be necessary to properly align allof their cutting edges may be had by adpusting screws 57 working througha flange 58 of the knife carrying block 51 and bearing against the endsof the shanks 52 Screws 57 backing the knives, retain them against axialmovement, while the clamping ,1

plates 55 assist in this connection and also firmly retain the knivesagainst any lateral giovlgment relatively to their supporting K 'm'fecarriage feeding mechanism shaft 13, this collar being lined as at 61with a bearing sleeve so that the shaft end 14 is free to rotate withinthe collar. The collar is formed with a pair of leg portions 62havoutwardly in the grooves 63. This separat ing means, best seen inFig; 7, is in the nature of a disc 70 having cam grooves 71 therein.

which receive studs 72 rojecting from the two sections of the nut. hedisc is provided with a handle 73 for rotating the same in eitherdirection to effect disengagement of the sections 65from the shaft end14, or to move them into mesh therewith. It will be apparent that if thesleeve is held against rotation,'and the feed nut 65, is engaged withthe shaft, this nut will be fed along the shaft as the latter rotates.

I use this -movement of the nut to control the operation of the knifefeedin cam 21' in a manner which I shall now descri e. A yoke 80straddling the collar 60 is secured to oppositesides of the collar byscrews orstuds 81. providing a pivotal connection between the yoke andthe collar. The yoke is also pivotally connected as by pins 82 to thetwo furcations 83 of the bifurcated end 84 of a lever;

85 swinging in a horizontal plane about a fulcrum formed b the reducedupper end- 86 of a post 86 rislng from the bed 10 of the machine. Theopposite end of the lever 85 is connected bya link 87 to the cam 21.Ohserving Fig. 1 of the drawings, it will be seen that as the feed nutis carried to the left upon rotation of the shaft 13, the lever 85 willbe swung in a counter-clockwise direction about its fulcrum 86, drawingthe link 87 to the right and causing the cam 21 to feed the knifecarriage 18 inwardly toward the center of the drum.

When the stock on the drum hasbeen completely reduced to steel wool, thefeed nut 65, 65 may be reset by simply swinging the lever 7 3 in acounter-clockwise direction to disengage the two sections of the nutfrom the threaded end 14 of the shaft at which time the feed nut may bemanually returned to its original position. It will be understood thatthe feed nut is disengaged while winding the stock on the drum.Obviously, different length levers might be substituted for the lever 85to vary the speed of travel of the knife-carriage, and to consequentlyvary the thickness of the wool which is shaved from the wire stock.

Operation It is believed that the operation of the machine will be fullyunderstood from the foregoing description, but it may be brieflysummarized as follows. With the feed nut disknives into engagement withthe work. In-

asmuch as the feed of the knife carriage is constant, the thickness ofthe steel wool which is cut on successive revolutions of thestockcarrying drum will be uniform. The brake mechanism exerts asufficient drag on the drum at all times to prevent slack occurring inthe wire coil which might interfere with proper operation of themachine. By using wire of rectangular or other polygonal cross section,substantially all of the wire may be reduced to steel wool, leaving verylittle stock which must be scrapped.

I have already described the manner in which the shaving knives may beadjusted and may be conveniently removed for sharpening purposes. I

This machine may be operated by an unskilled operator and a materialeconomy may be effected in the production of steel wool due to thesavings effected in the cost of stock, labor and machinery.

Obviously, various changes and alterations might be made in the generalform and arrangement of the parts described without "departing from theinvention. Hence I do not wish to limit myself to the details set forth,but shall consider myself at liberty to make such changes andalterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of the appendedclaims. a

I claim:

1. Ida machine for making steel Wool, a frame, a shaft journalled in theframe, a drum on the shaft about which the stock is Wound, a knifecarriage mounted on the frame adj acent the drum, a knife mountedthereon in operative relation to the stock, and means actuated from thedrum shaft for feeding the knife carriage toward the drum as the drumrevolves, said means including a feed nut engaged with a threadedextension of the drum shaft and operative connections between the feednut and the knife carriage including a lever train controlled by themovement of the feed nut along the shaft and a knife carriage feedingcam controlled by the lever train.

2. In a machine for making steel wool, a frame, a shaft journalled inthe frame. a drum on the shaft about which the stock is wound, a knifecarriage mounted on the frame adjacent the drum, a knife mounted thereonin operative relation to the stock, said drum including a series ofindependent,

sections, one of which is fixed to the shaft and others of which arefreely turnable thereon.

3. In a machine for making steel wool, a frame. a shaft journalled inthe frame, a drum on the shaft about which the stock is wound, a knifecarriage mounted on the frame adjacent the drum, a knife mounted thereonin operative relation to the stock, said drum including a series ofindependent ections, one of which is fixed to the shaft and thers ofwhich are freely turnable thereon, and means for anchoring the ends ofwire stock to the first mentioned drum section and one of the freelyturning sections.

4. In a machine for making steel wool, a frame, a shaft journalled inthe frame, a drum on the shaft about which the stock is wound includinga drum section fixed to the shaft and a plurality of freely turning drumsections, a knife carriage mounted on the frame adjacent the drum, aknife mounted thereon in o erative relation to the stock, means actuatefrom the drum shaft for feeding the knife carriage toward the drum asthe drum revolves, means for anchoring the ends of wire stock to thefirst mentioned drum section and one of the freely turning sections, andbrake mechanism exerting a drag on said last mentioned drum section totake up slack in the wire.

5. A steel wool machine including a threaded rotating shaft and a stockcarrier, a knife carria e, and knife carriage feeding means contro ledby said shaft including a splitfeed nut on the shaft, a collar in whichthe shaft turns freely actuated by said feed nut, a lever trainpreventing rotation of the collar and operatively connecting the collarto'the knife carriage.

6, A steel wool machine including a threaded rotating shaft and a stockcarrier, a knife carria e, and knife carriage feeding means contro ledby said shaft including a split feed nut on the shaft, a collar in whichthe shaft turns freely actuated by said feed nut, a lever trainpreventing rotation of the collar and 0peratively connecting the collarto the knife carriage, and means selectively manually operable to spreadthe sections of the feed nut to permit said nut to he slid along theshaft said spreading means including a cam disc operatively connected tothe nut sections.

7. In a work holder for steel wool producing machines, a shaft, aplurality of drum sections received on the shaft and one of which beingfixed thereto and the others being loose on the shaft, means foranchoring the ends of stock wound upon the drum to the fixed drumsection and one of the loose drum sections, and means for retarding therotation of said loosely mounted drum sections so that upon rotation ofthe shaft, the stock will be placed under tension.

8. In combination a support, a shaft mounted thereon, a plurality ofdrum sections received on the shaft and one of which being fixed theretoand the others loose on the shaft, means for anchoring the ends or stockwound upon the drum to the fixed drum section and one of the loose drumsections, and means for retarding the rotation of said loose drumsection whereby the stock will be tensioned upon rotation of the shaft.

9. In a work holder for steel wool producing machines, a shaft, a drummounted thereon including a drum section fixed to the shaft and aplurality of loose drum sections, means for anchoring the ends of stockwound about the drum to the fixed drum section and the end-most loosedrum section, and a brake mechanism associated with said loose drumsection whereby to retard the rotation of the latter so that the stockwill be tensioned.

JOHN F. JEANNIN.

